All budding artists want a painting style of their own... Their own unique way of painting which differs from everyone else's... A footprint... Professional artists however need to keep their existing collectors happy yet also yearn to change and evolve as time marches on... To push the envelope, to excite oneself... This is how I have been feeling all year... Demotivated and uninspired... So I took a painting that I did in my studio and asked a professional artist friend to play a little - and then personally picked up the pieces whilst trying to retain some of my friend's marks yet keeping it within my genre so its still mine... Quite a hard task as one is tempted to delete all marks (not because you don't like them, but out of habit and nature) and turn the painting back into what it was (your comfort zone)....

So initially I went to the florist and purchased some inspiration....

Threw the blomme on the floor and photographed them (thanks Pascale for the idea)....

I then painted as I do....

We have a conflab and cake...

And Pascale gooi's some lines....

The final result met with a mixed bag of comments and opinions, which isn't the "be all and end all" - its the process that counts... Its being pushed out of your comfort zone, like a cuckoo out the nest... A little bit of excitement reigns and there is hope for a slightly different outcome the next time one paints....